


neither here nor there

by yuliaplisetskaya



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Gen, M/M, Supernatural Elements, yurio centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-17 04:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21260786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuliaplisetskaya/pseuds/yuliaplisetskaya
Summary: The locals down the road--children with guileless wide eyes and patronising adults with placating smiles--told Yuri, multiple times, to avoid Old Man Katsuki who lived up the hill at all cost if he wanted to go on.Right. As if that didn't sound ominous at all.
Relationships: Side Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

The bus had been on the road for hours.

  
Yuri could already recite the rhythm in which raindrops pelted the glass window next to his seat. There was a throbbing in his head that wouldn't go no matter how long he'd slept on it, and now it was pulsing in sync with the rain. He'd ran out of painkillers about three towns ago, so there was no other option than go back to sleep and hope that it would dissipate by the time they reached his stop.

  
When he came around, it was already dark. The bus screeched into a halt along with the obnoxious sound of a bell as the driver shouted, "Last stop! Last stop!"

  
"Oh my God," Yuri groaned and reached out a hand to steady himself on the iron bar that separated the exit of the bus and the frontmost seat. The driver sent him a side-eyed glance and cleared their throat. "Last stop, kid. We're not going back uptown, there's no return route,"

  
Yuri chose to ignore them, instead hurrying out the door after shoving the fee at their hand. Of course he knew there wasn't a return route. That was the exact reason he took this bus--he wanted to run away as far as possible, so far no one would be able to find him and force him back home. The bus took off as soon as Yuri's feet left the last steps of its staircase, leaving thick, black cloud that smelt like petrol in its wake.

  
Between that and the nonstop downpour, it didn't help Yuri's headache any. The huge clock on the far left of the small, dilapidated station told him it was eleven o'clock at night. There was no one around, save for the security guards and street vendors counting their earning for the day, who were now looking at him with a huge grin plastered on their faces. It made Yuri uncomfortable. He told them as such.

  
"Sorry, sorry," the guard stationed at the main gate said, still smiling. "We've just never had anyone new come here, you know? This town is for transit--anyone who wants to go either direction stops here for rest before continuing," He clasped Yuri's hand between two of his own. In the cold of the weather, they were scorching. Yuri tried his best not to flinch. "We hope you enjoy your stay here. And don't forget--" He leaned closer to whisper in a conspirational tone in Yuri's ear. "--whatever you do, don't talk to Old Man Katsuki,"

  
"Old Man who?"

  
"He lives up the hill just north of here, and he will try to chat you up or get your attention. It is very important that you do not pay him any mind if you still value your life,"

  
What. "He a serial killer or something?"

  
"Worse," and there was the creepy grin again, showing a row of teeth filled with gaps and cavities, although the guard couldn't be more than five years older than Yuri. "Now, run along, enjoy the town! You should have the full experience, it is a nice place to live in,"

  
With a final shove, Yuri stumbled out of the station ground into a wide road lined with stalls and shops on both sides. Unlike the deserted station, all the lights in the stalls were on, shining bright yellow under the starry sky. He could hear fireworks going off somewhere on his right side and children running around begging their parents for another pack of cotton candy, giggling uncontrollably from their sugar high. Yuri took a tentative step forward, neatly sidestepping the poodle formed by the rain and looking around. The stalls were selling all sorts of things, starting from clothes to stuffed toys to customised skate guards. It was harder to name something Yuri didn't want from them than the things he wanted to buy. He had to remind himself that whatever cash left he owned had to go to buying medicines once he found a pharmacy around here.

  
That being said, his arrival didn't exactly go unnoticed amidst the noise and the lively crowd. He was hyperaware of every pair of eyes that followed his every step and movement, their smiles and empty gazes caught on his peripheral vision. No one tried to strike a conversation with him, but when he did meet their eyes, they quickly pointed at whatever was on sale in their respective stall. A tiger print hoodie. Leopard patterned sneakers, which Yuri could swear had been thrice as expensive when he had last seen them at the original store (not bad for ripoffs but god, his headache needed to go away at once). Someone offered him borscht, still steaming and freshly made, but it smelled so awful he almost passed out. Quickly he put his hoodie up over his head and ran away, hoping to find a store that sold painkillers or a shelter, whichever came first.

  
Just as the road came to an end in an intersection a car zoomed up, nearly clipping him. He felt the grip of a small hand pulling him backward and turned around to face a kid, five year old at best, his other hand clutching a half-finished lollipop.

  
"Why hurry?" the kid asked him. Yuri shook his head and crouched so he could meet the kid's gaze.

  
"My head hurts so bad," he said. "Where are your parents?"

  
"Dunno," The kid stuck what was left of the candy inside his mouth and pulled the stick out with a loud pop. "Are you Old Man Katsuki? My brothers told me I shouldn't talk to you if you're Old Man Katsuki,"

  
"No," Yuri was getting more and more frustrated at this point. "Do you know where the pharmacy is?"

  
"Pharmacy?"

  
"Uh. Place where people get medicines?"

  
"Medicines?"

  
"Okay, where do sick people go to around here?"

  
"There's no sick people," The kid stared at Yuri as if he'd grown two heads. The lollipop at his hand was whole again, its bright artificial colours clashing with each other. Great, now he was hallucinating.

  
"Okay, whatever," Yuri waved the kid away. From a distance, a street vendor looked right and left before crossing the street and approaching Yuri.

  
"Cigarettes?"

  
"I don't smoke," he griped. "Although, if you have something that can help with headache..."

  
The vendor laughed uproariously. "My friend! There is no such thing as ache here. Only fun and happiness. Don't you worry so much about yourself," He clapped Yuri's shoulder. The movement sent a fresh wave of pain through Yuri's skull. "Although, you may know of pain if you meet Old Man Katsuki. Which is why no one meets him! You shouldn't too, newcomer. There's nothing good to be gained from him,"

  
"Okay, okay, I get it! No talking to Katsuki, whoever the fuck he is! I just want some paracetamol, goddammit!" He kicked the pavement below him, splashing the rain water there. The lower part of his jeans and his socks were now soaked, and he couldn't care less. It wasn't like he wasn't already freezing from all the time he spent under the rain anyway.

  
It took Yuri a while to realise that the marketplace had gone silent. Everyone was now looking at him, frightened, ready to bolt. No one was grinning anymore.

  
"What," he started slowly, "I can't even say his name? He's some sort of Voldemort here?"

  
The street vendor cleared his throat. "It's...best if you don't, buddy," he said, to which Yuri snapped a quick "don't 'buddy' me,"

  
"Fuck it," Yuri muttered under his breath. "Hey--at least tell me. Is there an inn or something? Somewhere I can stay the night? Can I crash at yours?"

  
"Why would you need rest in a town of celebration? Come now, don't be silly! Everyone, let's party!" And just like that, the commotion started again, the momentary fear long forgotten behind them. Yuri clutched at his head and yanked his hair out to try to tamp down the pain.

  
Continuing down the road, he noticed that while frustrating, the vendor's words were true. There was no sign of a rest area, no inns, hotels, motels, nor anything of the sort. Even the shops that were set up on permanent buildings had no second stories that normally housed the owners’ living areas. Every square inch of space was occupied by small buildings with little to no room to spare.

  
Eventually Yuri gave up trying and opted to find a sheltered place he could stay under until the rain dissipated, preferably without loud people telling him to lay off some unknown old dude who sounded creepy anyway. After walking a few hundred metres he happened upon a narrow alley between two cafes, whose back doors opened to a landing with canopy. Yuri climbed the short steps leading to the landing and leaned his back against the damp wall. The chill seeped through his clothes and his teeth chattered. The throbbing inside his head had subsided into a dull ache, but he wasn’t sure if it was really lessening or he was just getting accustomed to it. It didn’t take long for sleep to claim him after that.


	2. Chapter 2

Yuri woke up to daylight and an entirely different town.

  
He blinked his eyes open, still bleary and crusty, then squinted angrily at the sun before closing his eyes again because the glaring ray hurt his head. It was already noon. Slowly he stretched out his limbs and walked out of the narrow alley to the main road once more.

  
There was no one in sight. Where the stalls had been the night before was now a barren expanse as far as the eyes could see. The shops no longer had neon signs on their storefronts, and the windows and doors were barricaded with wooden planks. Layouts of the town remained the same, although there was nothing Yuri could recognise right now.

  
About two blocks from the bus station, he could hear wind chimes and the sound of a glass door being opened. He quickened his steps and approached the source of the sound, which turned out to be a small pharmacy that he remembered clearly was a toy shop the night before. Nothing made sense so far. He took a deep breath, then two.

  
It still didn’t make sense.

  
Yuri walked the short gap between the road and the narrow entrance of the pharmacy. The wind chime sounded again above his head. Near the large window, the shopkeeper sat with his head propped on one hand, eyelids drooping every few seconds. He struggled to keep them open. Yuri paid him no mind and went to look for the shelf where they stored the paracetamol.

  
Just as he ducked down to the back shelves, a tall man clutching a box of inhaler walked past him straight to the shopkeeper’s desk. Yuri felt his heart drop to his stomach when he noticed that the stranger sported a mess of greying hair atop his head.

  
Yuri tried his best to keep his distance behind the man after taking his painkillers off the shelf. To his surprise, he noticed that the shopkeeper was the security guard at the bus station, the one who had first warned him about Old Man Katsuki. Now, though, there was no reservation on his face as he rang up the old man’s purchase and told the old man to wait while he fetched the prescription medicines from the storage.

  
Yuri debated asking the man if he were the fabled Voldemort the townspeople were so scared about. It was highly possible he wasn’t, seeing how the shopkeeper slash guard was entirely chill with his existence. Before he could make up his mind, the man turned around and looked at him with a small smile on his face. It wasn’t the creepy grin the whole town sported the other night; it looked sincere and soft. But Yuri wasn’t going to let his guards down.

  
“Are you Old Man Katsuki?” he asked before the man could get any words in. The old man looked taken aback for a split second, eyebrows subtly rising in apprehension.

  
“Old Man—is that what they call me these days, those rascals. Right. Yeah. That would be me,” he affirmed. The smile from before was tucked at a corner of his lips. “And you are?”

  
Yuri had never backed off so fast in his life, his back hitting the wall behind him with a loud thud. It hurt. Katsuki’s eyes widened in surprise. “Hey, I’m not trying to hurt you, calm down,”

  
“Are you, now,” Yuri snarled. They were momentarily interrupted by the shopkeeper handing Katsuki his medicines and Katsuki thanking him. Yuri ran up to his desk, fuming with anger.

  
“You!” he shouted. “You told me last night that no one ever spoke to him. What happened to that?!”

  
“Oh dear,” Katsuki muttered to himself. Yuri turned to glare at him instead.

  
The shopkeeper looked Yuri up and down. “Don’t think we’ve met before. You must’ve had the wrong guy,” before returning his attention to the computer in front of him. “That would be five dollars,”

  
Yuri shoved the money at him before stomping out of the pharmacy. He felt Katsuki trailing a short distance away behind him, so he stopped on his heels and turned around to shout at him. “Stop following me!”

  
“I can explain,”

  
“You won’t kill me. I won’t let you,” Yuri might not ever fight once in his life, but he was still a figure skater. He was sure he’d packed his skates into his bag. He could slice the old man in half if he tried anything.

  
“Is that what they’re telling you?” Katsuki let out an amused snort. “I’m not a murderer. Come on, now, let’s get some lunch. You can’t have painkillers on an empty stomach,”

  
“Can, too. And I’m not having lunch with a stranger,”

  
“But you know my name, though,” The smile was back again. “I don’t know yours, so that makes you a stranger to me,”

  
Silent stretched for a good few minutes. “...Yuri. Yuri Plisetsky,”

  
“That’s a nice name,” It wasn’t. It was a common and non-remarkable name, until Yuri went out and proved himself by being the Junior Grand Prix Final champion in men’s figure skating. “What are you doing in this quiet town, then, Yuri?”

  
It took him a while to realise that Katsuki was the first to actually ask him what he was doing here. Everyone else had been so welcoming of the newcomer, making sure he knew to enjoy himself, not at all suspicious of his intentions. “I’m going away from home. This is the farthest the bus would take me. Not that it’s any of your business,”

  
“I see,” Katsuki nodded. “Did you eat at all during the festival last night?”

  
“Didn’t really feel like eating,”

  
“All the more reason to have lunch, then!” Katsuki smiled brightly and clapped his hands. It would’ve been really annoying had Yuri not had to deal with too many whiplashes trying to reconcile what was real and what wasn’t. He then beckoned Yuri to the opposite direction of the bus station.

  
Above them, the sun still persisted, shining bright. It should be sweltering, but all he could feel was the light breeze of wind that occasionally passed. On the way, they passed rows after rows of houses that hadn’t been there the previous night. The occupants were presumably away from work, judging from the locked doors and gates, with a few of them willing the day away just sitting by the window and listening to the radio. Katsuki waved hello to each one of them and got a hello in return.

  
He must have realised Yuri had been staring at him weirdly, because the next time he greeted another person, he looked at Yuri again. “So what was it about everyone telling you not to speak to me?”

  
“Well, they said that if I valued my life, I shouldn’t ever talk to you, even if you tried and tried to start a conversation with me, because nothing good ever comes from talking to you,” Katsuki let out a hearty laugh at that. “But apparently that’s bullshit, because you’ve been talking to everyone on this goddamn town and no one catches the plague. Well, everyone that’s awake, anyway,”

  
“It’s good to know you’ve been disabused of that notion, then, because we’re going to my house now. Hope they haven’t said anything about that?”

  
“They just told me you lived up the hill. If you’re going to skin me alive now’s a good time to tell me, because I’m going to run,”

  
“No, I won’t. What a waste that would make--Makkachin would love to see you,” Katsuki took a sharp turn to what looked like a shortcut in the middle of a grass field. “This way,”

  
Yuri trudged along behind him. The climb upward was very steep, but the old man showed no sign of exhaustion. After ten minutes Yuri wiped some droplets of sweat off his forehead and asked. “Makkachin?”

  
“Ah, yes! That’s my dog. She’s the best dog ever. You’ll see her,”

  
Yuri rolled his eyes. “Every dog owner says that,”

  
“And they would all be correct,” Katsuki stopped on his track. Yuri almost lost his balance trying to course correct as Katsuki waved his arm to the direction of the house behind him. “We’re here! Welcome to my humble abode,”


	3. Chapter 3

They entered through the small front gate and walked through a series of stepping stones before reaching the door. Katsuki slid it open with ease, toeing his shoes off and putting them on the rack. “I’m home!”

  
“Welcome home, Vitya,” A voice replied from inside the house. Yuri had had enough with being confused this past day. He went for direct questions. “Viktor? That’s your name? I thought your name was Katsuki,”

  
The source of the voice inside--another old man with soft, brown eyes hidden behind thick blue-rimmed glasses--visibly hid his laugh behind his hand. Katsuki--Viktor--whoever the fuck his name was--looked sheepish, but answered anyway.

  
“That’s Yuuri Katsuki,” he supplied, gesturing to the man with the glasses. “And I’m Viktor Katsuki,”

  
There was a pause as Yuri tried to digest the new information. “I have at least a hundred different questions now. I need to sit down,”

  
“Suit yourself,” Viktor pulled out a chair at the dining table and practically lifted Yuri to sit on it. He then disappeared to the kitchen for a moment and emerged with a tray laden with three bowls of meal, still steaming and smelling like heaven.

  
“Yuuri made katsudon for us,” he said. “Please enjoy! I know you haven’t eaten since yesterday, so you can have the extra large portion,”

  
“That,” Yuri pointed. “He has the same name as me,”

  
“Ah, I forgot that would be a problem. That can easily be solved, though! Starting today, we’re calling you Yurio,”

  
“Whaaat?” Yuri dropped his chopsticks. “No way! Why should I be the one with the nickname?”

  
“Because he’s older,”

  
“Well I can just call him deda if that’s the case, since he’s older!”

  
“Fair enough,” Yuuri chirped in, settling himself on his seat. “We are older, Vitya, don’t pout. We hope you enjoy your meal, Yurio, and if you need anything else, just ask,”

  
“Why are you still calling me Yurio,”

  
Yuuri and Viktor ignored him, instead opting to feed each other bits from their own bowls, despite their meal being the exact same dish. The identical overly fond, lovestruck look that graced both of their faces at least answered one of his questions from earlier.

  
“So I take it you aren’t siblings?”

  
Both of the older men promptly choked on their food. “Oh my God. Honey, he thinks I’m your brother. First he called me old and then he said we’re related, Jesus take the wheel—“

  
“Wrong guy,” Yuuri wheezed. “_Two bros, chilling in a hot tub_—“

  
“Yuuri, stop,”

  
Yuri let them get the laughter out of their system, feeling even more ridiculous by the moment. A few minutes passed. He cleared his throat and not so subtly pushed the jug of water toward their side of the table. “Um. Point taken. For the record, though, my thinking you’re old is justified since your hair is grey,”

  
“It’s silver,” Viktor cried, indignant. “How old do you even think I am?”

  
“Uh,” Yuri picked a random number out of thin air. “Sixty-three?”

  
The gasp Viktor let out was so loud Yuri almost had half a mind to duck under the table and cover his ears. “Do I really look that ancient? Sweetheart, stop laughing, he called you deda too, it’s not exactly high praise,” Yuuri reached out to rub Viktor’s hand in a soothing gesture. Viktor turned to glare at Yuri. “For the record, young man, I am all of twenty-eight years old. My husband here is twenty-four. What are you, like twelve?”

  
“Fifteen,”

  
“There,” Viktor opened his palm outward in emphasis. “Thirteen years between us, nine between you and Yuuri. We could have been cousins. Old man, he says. Then what does that make you, I wonder,”

  
“Is it better if I call you Yuuri and Viktor?” Yuri winced. Yuuri was right; calling someone else with his name was painfully awkward.

  
“Nah, deda is fine, Yurio,” Yuuri winked, and there was a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Now can we please continue eating, I worked very hard on this katsudon and I don’t want to eat it cold. No more questions until everyone’s finished,”

  
Lunch went on in relative silence, broken only by the occasional tap of chopsticks against porcelain bowls. Yuri found out that he really was quite starving, because he finished earlier than his hosts who each had smaller portions for themselves. He excused himself to take his paracetamol, even though the headache was practically nonexistent now. Better safe than sorry.

  
“I’m assuming you’ve found out the town doesn’t offer a resting place after dusk?” Yuuri asked as Yuri cleared his dish and put them in the sink. Viktor shooed him away from trying to wash them and waved his hand in the direction of the bowls. The sink started filling with soap water, the suds moving up and down to remove the grease. Yuri watched them intently, mesmerised, almost forgetting to answer Yuuri’s question.

  
“Yeah. I slept on someone’s porch last night, and when I woke up the town was completely changed,” he admitted.

  
“Well, our guest room is open if you need to sleep. It’s the door on the right down the hall. Otherwise feel free to do whatever, as long as you promise not to stay in the town after twilight,”

  
“It’s kinda weird, you know, getting two completely contradictory advices in just two days,” said Yuri.

  
“The call on who to trust is always yours, Yurio,” Yuuri smiled. “Obviously I can’t tell you what to do, since I’m not your parent. But if you still want to double-check, my advice is just to be careful. Both with me and Vitya, and the townspeople at night. And remember—the guest room is always open whenever you like,”

  
Yuri, who was already putting his right shoe on, nodded. “Alright. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow. Or tonight, who knows. Bye, deda,” He exited the door, and returned for a while as an afterthought. “Thank you for the food, I guess. It was delicious,”

  
“We’re glad you like it! It’s the Katsuki family traditional recipe,”

**Author's Note:**

> around a year ago, i wrote these in one sitting, which was around three hours. fast forward to now and i'm continuing it. i think. i hope
> 
> as always, 'the fuck is going on' comments are appreciated, as i, too, never know what goes on in my fics. i am not a plot person.


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